Papa and Music

It's unlike me to dedicate a whole piece about someone else, but I think I had to. Papa has always loved music. Since I was a little boy, I've always seen Papa in the night, opening either B4U Music or Hungama Music and just whistling along to the songs endlessly. Hindi, Kannada, Illayaraja, you name it. He loves Rajkumar's Ninna Kangala and Amar Prem's whole playlist. As though in a trance, he loses himself. The routine is always the same. He returns home, mom admonishes him for coming late. He then pours himself a lovely drink, usually Whisky + Water and takes a seat on the far right corner of the sofa, providing him access to an armrest. There's a few minutes of small-talk: how our day went, a bit questioning about life and then he boots the TV up. Now, YouTube Music has gotten the better of him. He always starts off with a classic. And it's always the same. Kishore Da's Zindagi Ka Safar Mein. It's not melancholic, it's not preach-y, but it's just acknowledging what is. I tend to…